


Conflict of Interest

by thevillageofbree



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types
Genre: AFAB reader - Freeform, Bad Flirting, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Fluffy Ending, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Tension, chapter 6 is the porn, kaiba is awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-09 04:21:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20988767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thevillageofbree/pseuds/thevillageofbree
Summary: You work for Duel Monthly, the most influential Duel Monsters magazine out there. You've also been writing slam pieces on one Seto Kaiba for a few months now. Kaiba just read one of those pieces. Things can only go badly........unless?AKA: Kaiba gets called out and falls in love





	1. The Afterparty

Your first proper meeting with Kaiba had been at a Duel Monsters convention. More specifically it’s after party for the organisers and sponsors. Duel Monthly (the magazine you worked for) had contributed quite generously to the event and sent a delegate to accept the plaque you’d been told the company would receive as a thank you. That delegate was you.

You’d heard whispers all night from the other delegates, that Seto Kaiba was in a foul mood. As far as you knew, Kaiba was always in a foul mood so it was hard for you to pay any attention to the gossip.

there was a sweet guy named Tenya who worked the duel monsters social media job. One of the lowest rungs on the Kaiba Corp ladder, apparently. Usually he’d never be invited to something like this, but his job was instrumental in answering questions about the event and keeping ticket sales up. He was a polite guy, trying his best not to be noticed and just eat his hors d'oeuvres in peace. You’d met at a few duels before, sometimes you sat together to take notes.

He came to you, with a gentle warning.

“Keep an eye out for the boss.” He’d said, “he’s not happy with you.”

You’d scoffed, “I don’t work for Kaiba, what’s he got to be mad at me about?”

“He didn’t like your article.”

_ Oh shit _ , you thought.

“Oh shit” You said

“Damn right.”

“When the hell did he start reading Duel Monthly? Last I heard he thought it was ‘mindless drivel’”

“People have been linking it to him on Twitter. Like, thousands of people.”

“When the hell did he start using Twitter? Last I heard he thought it was ‘a useless distraction’”

“His brother showed it to him.”

“fuck.” You muttered, “The perfect storm.”

“When the hell did you start learning stuff about Kaiba? Last I heard you thought he was ‘an overrated prick’”

You frowned at him, “what? I still do! I just-“

Tenya crossed his arms.

“It’s for work!”

“Whatever. I’m gonna shove some more takoyaki in my face.” He rested a firm hand on your shoulder, “don’t die.”

“Oof. I’ll try.” You’d muttered, straightening your blazer and heading to the open bar. You needed a drink. Most of your articles didn’t get much traction, Duel Monthly had lost a lot of readers once everything started going digital and it took some time for the magazine to catch up. The website has been running for a few years now but was only just reaching the consumer base you’d had in the physical days. It sounded like you’d finally had your big break, but it wasn’t exactly how you’d imagined it.

Grabbing your drink from the bartender you took a huge gulp. The burning liquid did nothing to ease your nerves. You had a lot of personal opinions about Seto Kaiba and they had remained largely personal for a long time. Your boss thought attacking Kaiba would be a great publicity stunt and that was what drove you to write the first article. When there was no response from the man himself you felt a little more confident. Every second month you were writing a slam piece on him, you’d felt invincible, he was never going to read your ‘mindless drivel’ you could say whatever you wanted! Until today, apparently.

You were midway through your second drink when of the event organisers called for the group’s attention.

“Hello everyone and thank you so much for coming.” He gave a low bow before gesturing to his left, “Mr Kaiba and I are very pleased with the outcome of this event and that’s thanks to all you hard workers out there!”

You frowned. Kaiba didn’t seem pleased at all. He was standing beside the microphone, making no effort to seem engaged. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and all he gave the audience was a curt nod.

“First of all, I want to give a huge shout out to all the other event organisers, you know who you are, we couldn’t have done this without you! Tenya especially did a wonderful job on publicity, thanks for coming kiddo!”

Tenya raised his glass and the rest of the room applauded. You stuck two fingers in your mouth and whistled, Tenya rolled his eyes.

“Anyway—“ the organiser began, “—it’s time for us to reward the sponsors who helped us raise the money to make this year’s convention the best one ever! A round of applause for them all!”

Realising that was your cue, you downed the rest of your drink and left it on the nearest flat surface before heading up to the front of the room. The rest of the crowd applauded politely as you and the other delegates ascended the stairs, but you felt a chill run down your spine as you walked past Kaiba. He made eye contact with you, not just a passing glance either, it was solid, firm. You did your best to ignore him. However, When you stood up in front of the crowd, you found yourself having trouble focusing on the applause. As each of the delegates walked forward to accept their plaque you found yourself only able to watch Kaiba. He seemed to be trying his best to make his glare inconspicuous but you could see the vitriol every time he looked your way. Deep down you always knew that your outward dislike for the head of Kaiba Corp would come back to bite you in the ass, but you’d never expected the ass biting to be so public. When it was your turn to step forward, you tried your hardest to focus.

“And finally, Duel Monthly was able to give a substantial donation this year, along with doing wonders for publicity through their articles. Even if some of them are a little...controversial.”

The audience laughed pleasantly at the announcer’s joke at your expense. Kaiba did not laugh and neither did you. Tonight was going to be exhausting.

“Anyway, that’s it for the announcements. Time to get celebrating, yeah? We have a tab set up, so get as much as you want from the bar, that’s what it’s there for. Have a great night!”

The audience whooped and cheered at the reminder of free drinks, and you desperately wanted to take the organiser up on that offer. Tucking the plaque under your arm, you made to make a dash to the bar before Kaiba could notice you leaving. But as you were about to take the steps down from the platform, a hand wrapped around your upper arm.

You whirled around to see the CEO himself staring back at you and you felt yourself begin to sweat. Though you’d seen him at duels countless times, this was the first time you’d seen him so close. His hair was just barely in his eyes, which you had noticed were blue like the sky. He must have dashed over to reach you before you descended the stairs cause you could see his chest rising and falling quickly, your breath caught in your throat and before he was able to give you the calling out you rightly deserved-

“Kaiba, sir!” The announcer called, “do you have time to run over the profits from his afternoon? My laptop is set up in the back.”

Kaiba didn’t release your arm, but he did turn and give him a curt nod.

“We will be speaking later.” He said to you. His eyes burning with a just barely maintained rage.

You stood on your toes in an attempt to reach his eye level. They were very pretty eyes.

“I look forward to it.” You replied, a smirk crawling onto your face.

He did not like that. You felt his grip on your arm grow tighter before he let you go, that was a warning, and you knew it. If Kaiba thought he was going to ruin your night though, he was wrong. You were going to get drunk and it was going to be  _ great _ .

Despite how hard you tried to convince yourself that this meant nothing. You had been dreaming about your first real encounter with Kaiba for years, you were going to call him a dickhead and he was going to be taken aback. This was not how you’d thought it would happen. So you decided to go to the bar and order three of the cheapest booze they had on offer. It was terrible beer. But Duel Monthly didn’t pay super well and the rent prices in Tokyo just kept rising, so you were used to terrible beer.

Luckily there was a couch that had been abandoned in favour of dancing or socialising. Two things you had never been very good at. It was pretty new, you could smell the leather and sighed deeply as you sunk into it. Good couch, terrible beer. Overall the night was going pretty alright. You tried your best not to mull over your inevitable encounter with the billionaire bastard and instead focussed on reading the plaque you had been gifted.

It was pretty heavy, glass with a metal base, there was also a blue eyes white dragon curled around the top half of it. You rolled your eyes. That had Kaiba written all over it.

On careful examination you realised it  _ literally _ had Kaiba written all over it. Presented by Kaiba Corp, designed by Kaiba Corp, event planned by Kaiba Corp. how far up your own ass can one guy be? It was too bad the plaque technically belonged to Duel Monthly and not to you, because you had a sudden urge to deface it.

Sighing, you realised you couldn’t realistically sit on the couch forever and stood up to go find Tenya. But not before heading back to the bar for another few terrible beers and asking the bartender to hold onto the plaque for you. You did  _ not _ feel like carrying that thing around all night. It was heavy. Part of you just wanted to pack up and head home, but you knew your boss would not be happy if he heard you left early. You were supposed to be representing Duel Monthly at this thing, schmoozing with the Kaiba Corp higher ups and the like. A chuckle escaped your mouth, realising you’d definitely made an impression with the Kaiba Corp  _ highest up _ . Though you were sure your boss wasn't going to be pleased about it.

Realising that Tenya had probably gone out onto the balcony with some of his pals from programming, you decided it was best to leave him alone. He and Joey Wheeler were really the only two people you tolerated outside of work. But Kaiba would be dead in his grave before Joey was invited to one of these things. Hell, even after Kaiba was dead there was no way Joey was getting an invite. He was a good guy, he’d given up competing a few years ago to run a little Duel Monsters club for kids living in Domino. He was a pretty good teacher and the kids seemed to like him. Realising that there was no one you wanted to talk to, you sighed and headed into the hallway where the elevators were for some peace and quiet.

You knew the upstairs was reserved for the CEO himself to brood in, and it wasn’t likely anyone was going to be heading down for a good few hours. It would be the perfect place to take a breather. Though, it turned out you were wrong. Someone yelled your name from the entrance to the hall.

It was Kaiba, because of course it was. He strode towards you with a malice you were sure only he could manage.

Without even thinking about it, you straightened your back to reach your full height and just before he had time to open his fat mouth, you said, “Oh hello, Kaiba. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He glowered at you, his blue eyes absolutely brimming with rage, “don’t play coy with me. I’ve read your article. Last I heard it was illegal to publish blatant lies.”

You laced your fingers together behind your back and bounced on your toes. The many previous terrible beers giving you a confidence bordering on foolishness, “I’ve never published a lie. I called you a fifth rate duelist with a first rate deck, and that’s the truth.”

“Just who do you think you are?” His voice came out deeper than usual, not that you’d noticed, “I could have you fired.”

“Hmm.” You began, tapping a finger to your lips, “Last I heard you’re just developing peripherals. Industrial Illusions still owns the card game, and even then, you have no control over Duel Monthly. We publish the news, even if  _ you _ don’t agree with it.”

Your tipsy eyes followed the line of his skinny black tie down his body. His slacks clung to his narrow hips in ways that shouldn’t have been legal. But Kaiba was still awful, you were just drunk.

He took a step closer, forcing your eyes back up to his face. He loomed over you, a good foot taller than your average frame.

“You idiot.” He began, a smirk beginning at the corner of his mouth, “You think you’re better than me, don’t you?”

You instinctively backed away, shocked to find wall right behind you. He was challenging you, and you wouldn’t back down, “I know I am.”

He shoved you up against the wall, one hand on either side of your head as he leaned down. You could smell the whiskey on his breath and see small flecks of gold in his blue eyes.

“Then prove it.” He breathed. His eyebrows were drawn together in anger and his lips curled up in a snarl.

“I don’t have time to indulge you right now, Kaiba.” You replied, trying your best to hide the way your thighs were quaking. Not that they were quaking because of Kaiba, of course not. The alcohol in the bloodstream was the reason, it also explained the way your cheeks were burning.

“Then make time.”

You leaned into him, “I didn’t bring a deck.”

He snorted, “then I’ll build you one. Who do you think you’re talking to? You run an amazoness deck, correct?”

You blinked, how the hell did he know that, “yeah...”

He pulled away from the wall and you were finally able to breathe again, “upstairs. Ten minutes.”

You hadn’t actually played duel monsters in awhile. You’d been a big fan in late high school and early university, but when your workload started ramping up you’d dropped the game. You missed the opportunity to try for Duelist Kingdom because you were too busy studying for your journalism degree and since getting a job with Duel Monthly you only played a couple of games with each new launch so you could write a review.

So you don’t know what possessed you to agree to Kaiba’s little challenge. You’d been a good duelist, but you’d been a good duelist years ago and while you stood by your opinion of Kaiba’s abilities; you weren’t sure you were up to the task.

You’d been spending the 10 minutes Kaiba had given you scrounging through your socials for any mention of what kind of deck you played with. It definitely wasn’t in your bio for Duel Monthly, in there you only mentioned how your thought dragon decks were overrated, nothing else. It wasn’t until you punched the word ‘amazoness’ into your tumblr of all things that you found the post. Just one little post from over eight years ago.

“finally got my grubby little hands on an amazoness queen. never going back, babeeeeyy”

There was also a gif of Leonardo DiCaprio winking at the camera.

You hadn’t been active on tumblr in years. Well before you’d started work with Duel Monthly. How the hell did Kaiba find your account, it wasn’t even listed under your name. It was  _ dueldisks-sickflips _

“too bad ka/iba is such a dick. any other man will legs like that could get it,,,,,,”

Your face burned and you hurriedly worked to delete that one. You’d cleverly broken up his name so it wouldn’t appear in the Seto Kaiba tag (which was.....too active) but that wouldn’t have stopped him from seeing it if he was stalking your blog.

Teenage you was the worst.

Tenya found you again, and you quickly hid your phone in your pocket. His cheeks glowing red and a bottle of asahi in his hand, “Heard you’re dueling the boss.”

“Mm....” you began, “I heard that too.”

“I’ve heard a lot of dumb ideas, but this one tops the list.”

“Shut up. Someone needs to peg that asshole.”

Tenya snorted, “and you’re offering your pegging services?”

“Pegging services-“ you blinked, “shit! I meant ‘needs to take him down a peg’ I didn’t mean-“

Tenya held up a hand, “say no more. You’re sloshed, you can only dig yourself a deeper hole.”

“Yeah, well it looks like I’m about to jump down it. My time is up.” You straightened your blazer and pulled your ponytail tighter, like the tugging on your skull would sober you up just a little, “You coming to watch? I bet I’ll embarrass myself.”

Tenya downed his Asahi and chucked it in the closest trash can, “wouldn’t want to miss that for the world.”

***

Luckily. It seemed Tenya and Kaiba’s little secretary, Mina were the only members of the audience. Mina was nice, if a little chatty. you suspected she was so used to Kaiba ignoring her that when someone asked how her day was every thought from the past week just came flying out of her mouth. She was gently cradling an orange juice and seemed to be the only person without alcohol flushed cheeks. Even Kaiba wasn’t exempt from this, his eyes were unfocused as he tried to give you his trademark glare.

“I’m surprised you even showed up.” He said, arms crossed and head held high, “I thought you’d have realised your mistake and run on home by now.”

“And give up a chance to put you in your place? Not likely.” Your hand wobbled as you pulled out the other chair, the alcohol was really starting to hit you now, “ready to get a taste of both defeat and my ass?” 

“Gross” Kaiba said, absentmindedly shuffling his deck, “if that’s the best you can bring to the table you might as well give up now.” 

“Yeah, I’m with Kaiba on that.” Tenya called, “don’t make jokes about people eating your ass.” 

You huffed and slumped in the chair, “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

It was nice that Kaiba had decided to let the two of you play a game without peripherals. You hadn’t used a duel disk in years and that was a very early model. You’d always preferred playing vanilla. You gave the deck a lazy shuffle, since Kaiba built the deck, you were certain it wasn’t going to be stacked unfairly. You put it in front of Kaiba for him to cut anyway, because you at least knew your etiquette. His fingers brushed yours when he reached for the deck, he pulled back like you’d burned him. What a dick. 

“You going to let me cut yours, or what?” You asked, gesturing at his deck that was still resting squarely on his side of the table.   
He rolled his eyes, asshole. “You think I'd need to cheat to beat you?” He shoved it towards you regardless, “but if it makes you feel better.”   
You tried to glare at him, but you were having trouble keeping his stupid face in focus. Taking his deck, you cut it not once, but twice. Because you hated him. Then you pushed it back towards him with as much strength as you could muster, “We doing this or what?”    
“Last chance to give up.” He smirked at you, did this man ever smile normally?    
You huffed and started drawing your hand, “You wish, Kaiba.” 

After drawing his hand. You suddenly remembered that Kaiba wore reading glasses nowadays after he slipped them onto his nose. He looked like a sexy professor. That made you angry.   
“Problem?” He asked, too busy looking at his cards to even meet your gaze.    
It was honestly lucky Kaiba wasn't looking at you, because you had an awful poker face. You’d drawn an Amazoness Princess in your starting hand, and you were sure it was written all over your face, “No problem at all.” 

It looked like your starting hand was pretty great, no Amazoness Onslaught, but the whole point of the Princess card was that you’d be able to pick one up after you played her. The rest of your hand would do just fine. After taking a decent look at your cards, you peered over them to take a look at Kaiba, now  _ that  _ was a poker face if you'd ever seen one. He might as well have been staring at a blank sheet of paper. 

“Who starts? Do you have a coin?”

He waved a hand at you nonchalantly, “Up to you. You need all the help you can get.” 

That pissed you off, “Oh, by all means then, you start. I’ll need the extra turn to plan my first move, cause im just so dumb. It’s not like I write about this game professionally or anything.” 

“I’m not sure I'd call what you do  _ writing”  _ he placed a card down in defense position, “It’s more like someone threw up on a page.”

“I have a  _ degree,  _ Kaiba-” you spat, drawing a new card and throwing down an Amazoness Fighter in attack, “-and it happens to be in journalism. If you have a problem with my writing, take it up with Domino University and flip your damn card, i want to see if i killed it.”

He revealed a Blade Knight and very calmly moved it to his graveyard, “I should have all your professors fired.” He placed down a Battle Ox face up, and something you bet was a trap card face down, “It’s embarrassing that they even let you graduate. My Battle Ox attacks your monster by the way, in case you weren't paying attention.” 

“I dunno, buddy. You might not like my writing, but it sure looks like it got your attention.” You tossed your Fighter into the graveyard. Her ability meant you didn't lose any life points though, so that was at least something. 

The back and forth continued this way for much too long. Part of you thought that Kaiba was just toying with you, not a single dragon had been played yet and if anything seemed fishy, it was that. Despite this, he was still squarely in the lead, but for someone who hadn’t played competitively since university, you were doing pretty damn well. And hey, things were going even better, because you finally drew an Amazon Queen. It meant that all your Amazoness monsters couldn't be destroyed in battle, so as long as you keep everything in defense-

“I send two of my monsters on the field to the graveyard” 

Oh no...

“And tribute summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon”

Get  _ FUCKED _

Game over. None of the monsters in your deck had a high enough defense or attack to deal with that piece of shit dragon. Ugh, if he wasn't going to build your deck for you personally you would have slipped in like three Dragon Capture Jars or... _ something _ . You had an Amazoness Empress in there  _ somewhere _ , her attack and defense was still just a little shy of the dragon, and you needed to sacrifice the Amazoness Queen to summon it, which meant you needed to play it  _ and  _ keep it alive for a round. It wasn't going to be easy. 

Kaiba could clearly read your frustration all over you face. He was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed and a smirk on his face that made your blood  _ boil _ . After he destroyed one of your monsters, it was your turn again and you breathed a sigh of relief when you saw what card you drew. 

“Okay.” You started, a grin you would have been able to stop if you'd been sober appearing on your face, “First I send my Amazoness Fighter to the graveyard to tribute summon Amazoness Queen in attack position, then, i play Amazoness Spellcaster on both my Amazoness Queen and your Blue Eyes. Their attack points swap until the end of the round.”

You paused for a moment, looking up at him, checking to see if he had a trap or spell card to play in response before you finished your action. He was barely even looking at you, throwing a vague gesture that clearly meant, ‘hurry it along’. You frowned and used your suddenly powerful Amazoness Queen to wipe out the Blue Eyes. Taking a decent chunk of Kaiba’s life points with it. You smirked. You knew there were two more dragons in that deck somewhere, but you managed to take out one, and that was at least something. 

“How is that degree of yours helping you now?” Kaiba asked, starting his next turn.

You huffed and crossed your arms, “Uh, it’s doing pretty well, thanks. as you may have noticed, I just flushed your big special dragon down the toilet.”

He chuckled menacingly, which you were sure was the only way the bastard knew how to laugh. The table you were sitting at wasn't very big, and you felt one of his shiny black shoes brush against your leg. You pulled your leg back fast. 

“Not many people would insult me so outwardly.”

You snorted, “That’s because not enough people realise that you’re nothing without your fancy expensive deck.”

He only hummed at that. His eyebrows drawing together in an expression that you couldn't quite place. It didn't look like he was angry, even though you were definitely trying to make him angry. The game continued on from there, you managed to get a few good hits in now and again but nothing substantial. When he drew another Blue Eyes White Dragon you were at least able to keep your important cards around for the first attack.  Then he played a second Blue Eyes. You were a lot of things, but you weren't an idiot. The game was over.

Despite everything, you were a professional and prided yourself on being a good sport even after having to duel with Kaiba. You held out your hand for him to shake, but he just pushed it out of the way before standing.

“Mina, I'm leaving. Pack everything up.” He barked at the receptionist who jumped to her feet and started packing away the cards. She gave you a sympathetic look as she tidied up yours. It was nice of her. 

“You know, Kaiba.” You called after him, standing as tall as you could “In the competitive scene, not shaking an opponent's hand after a duel can get you disqualified.”

He turned back to you and you suddenly wished you had just let him go. You were not in the mood to be yelled at. Tenya was giving you a nervous look from across the room, and did not look prepared to deal with whatever abuse Kaiba was about to give you. It only took a few strides for him to reach you, he still smelt faintly of whiskey and his cheeks were still red. You craned your neck and looked up at him defiantly, trying your best to keep balance on wobbly legs. Just before you could let other insult fly at his stupid face. He reached down and took your hand in his.

And then shook it once.


	2. Phone Calls

A few days later, you found yourself loitering around the doorway of Kame Game and waiting for Duel Monthly’s copy of the latest Duel Monsters expansion. Mr Muoto didn’t work there as much anymore, he was the one that Monthly had originally organised their pre-sale deals with. You could just barely see his grandson balancing very precariously on a ladder in the back room.

“Hey, are you alright, man?”

“Y-Yeah!” He called back to you, “It’s just really high up!”

Knowing you didn’t feel like seeing anyone die today, you vaulted over the front counter and grabbed the base of the ladder before it could topple over, “better?”

“Oh yeah, thanks.” He said, grabbing a rectangular box and shoving it under his arm, “can you hold on for a little bit longer? I have a few more things to grab.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

He beamed down at you, “thank you!”

You didn’t know Yugi very well. He’d started uni the year that you’d finished and was only in the store during the summer. You recognised his face from when he was much younger and kicking ass in tournaments, but nowadays he was either studying or helping his grandpa out in the shop. Part of you wanted to interview him someday, but he seemed not to like the attention too much, so you’d never bothered to ask.

“Can you roll me to the right a little?” He asked, “the ladder has wheels. Just...be careful.”

“Don’t sweat it, I have a very delicate touch.”

He laughed at that, and you slowly rolled him across to another shelf where he started adding to his ever growing pile of games.

“We’ve got Azul in now, by the way. You were asking about it last week.”

“Oh shit! You remembered?”

“Of course I did! I can get a copy down if you want it?”

“That’d be sweet, Yugi. Thanks!”

Just as Yugi was reaching out for the board game, your phone rang. You managed to keep a tight grip on the ladder with one hand and grab Yugi’s leg with the other when the noise made him jolt.

“Whoa, that was close. Thanks for grabbing me.”

“All good. Gimme a sec, I should answer this.”

You let Yugi’s leg go and wedged your phone between your ear and shoulder. With both hands free, you grabbed back onto the ladder before answering the phone.

“Hey, who is this? I’m busy.”

“Busy doing what? Licking your wounds?”

“ _ Kaiba _ ?!” You yelled a little too loudly, Yugi almost fell off the ladder again.

“Sorry, Yugi!” You whispered to him before turning back to the phone, “how the hell did you get my number?”

“Easily. Just like how I defeated you last Friday.”

You sighed, “and you went out and found my number just for this? You should be embarrassed that I took as many of your life points as I did. I haven’t played a proper game in what, five years?”

“What are you doing now anyway?”

“Uh, I’m at Kame Game. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Hi Kaiba!” Yugi called down from the top of the ladder.

“Yugi says hi.” You said

Kaiba growled into the phone, “I don’t care what Mouto says.”

You looked up at Yugi, “Kaiba says hi.”

“No I didn’t!” He yelled in your ear, “are you  _ trying _ to make this call a waste of my time?”

“Hey, you called me, buddy. You’re wasting your own time.” You paused a moment, riling Kaiba up was fun, but something was nagging at the back of your mind, “hey, Kaiba?”

“Yes, what?”

“Why did you call me anyway? Do you need something, or what?”

There was an almost deafening silence. All you could hear was his breathing on the other end. Yugi looked at you, expectantly, all you could do was shrug.

“Kaiba-“

“I have to go.”

Then the line went dead. You huffed and shoved your phone back in your pocket, you kind of preferred when Kaiba was being a smartass. Quiet Kaiba was scary.

“So...” Yugi began, slowly climbing down the ladder, “What was that about?”

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t even tell me how he got my number.”

When he reached the floor, Yugi quickly locked the ladder in place and headed back into the front of the store, “I didn’t think you even knew Kaiba.”

“I don’t!” You said much too loudly, “I mean...not really. He forced me into dueling him a few nights ago, but that’s it!”

“Is this because of your article?” Yugi asked, carefully packing your copy of Azul and Duel Monthly’s expansion pack into a paper bag, “it’s ¥4400 for Azul, by the way.”

“Oh yeah, thanks.” You started digging out your wallet, “I didn’t think anyone read my articles, but it’s starting to look like I’m a household name.”

Yugi took your credit card and swiped it on the reader, “it was pretty harsh. I sort of understand why he’s angry with you.”

“He’s a big boy, he can handle it.”

Yugi tittered nervously, “if you say so, I’ve never known Kaiba to take an insult sitting down. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll be okay. I doubt he’ll call me again, there’s no way I’m worth his time.” You shoved your wallet back into your pocket and tucked the games under your arm, “thanks for the stuff, Yugi. Tell your grandpa I said hi.”

* * *

On Thursday afternoon, you found yourself sitting inside the Domino library with an uncomfortable number of parents. A few weeks ago, Joey Wheeler had contacted Duel Monthly about doing a coverage of the under 15s Duel Monsters tournament his club was running. He’d promised a boost in older audiences because most of the parents who brought their kids to the club dearly wanted to know more about their kids’ hobby. It was true that Monthly always had trouble maintaining audiences over mid-twenties, so your boss agreed. And since it was the off season for the competitive scene, you’d volunteered to cover the tournament. 

It looked like you, Joey and Kaiba’s secretary were the only folks at the event without kids. Seeing Mina out and about was always kind of strange, she usually seemed very high strung in Kaiba’s presence. Always dressed in tight pencil skirts and her hair pulled back against her skull. She was sitting a few seats away from you in a very sweet sundress and whooping a little too loudly whenever a kid did anything. It was always nice to see her looking so carefree.

Joey said Kaiba started sending her to these things to take bad candids or make him look like an idiot in front of the kids. Kaiba clearly didn't know Mina well at all, she didn't have a mean bone in her tiny body. She took a few bad photos and told Joey his hair looked stupid a few times, but by her third visit she’d given up being rude and ended up ernestly enjoying the games.

Joey finger-gunned at you and returned the gesture eagerly. Then he turned and winked at Mina. You weren't sure if she’d realised she was sweet on him yet, but her red cheeks made it pretty obvious to you.

It was clear that Joey was a good teacher, you’d always known he would be, but seeing him now was honestly impressive. You weren't great with kids, but even you could tell they all adored him. Even though a lot of them made fun of his accent. This kids were really strong duelists too and they were very happy to cheese in front of the camera when you asked for a photo. It was looking to be a pretty productive day, even if your phone had been buzzing impatiently in your pocket for the last two hours. You just assumed it was your parents. You’d return the call when you were done interviewing the kids.

“Hey! You done interrogating my students yet?” Joey called from the other side of the room, where he was giving parents directions to Kame Game so they could buy booster packs for their kids. 

“Yeah, im done.” You said, tucking your notepad under your arm.   


“Alright, pro-duelists!” Joey yelled, clapping his hands together. All the kids grinned up at him eagerly, “I’ll see you all next week! Keep up the good work and don't forget to thank our special guest before you leave.”   


“Thanks, Duel Monthly lady.” a kid said to you on his way out. He couldn't have been older than nine.   


You grinned, “No! Thank,  _ you _ ! It was an honor to speak to a future pro.”   


The kid beamed at you before running to catch up with his parents. Joey meandered up to you and leaned against the wall in a way you're sure he thought was cool.    


“Hey, Joey. Good show out there today.”   


He grinned at you, “You know it! The Wheeler Academy of Upcoming Duel Monsters Professionals is really coming along!”   


You cocked an eyebrow, “Last i heard it was called Wheeler’s Duelist Club”   


He shrugged, “Eh, it aint set in stone.”   


“Maybe stick with something shorter, man.”

Then your phone started buzzing again and you groaned, you couldn't feasible ignore it any longer. If you parents were asking you to travel eight hours across the country because they didn't know how to set up their wifi router you were going to shoot yourself.   


“Sorry, Jo. I gotta take this.”   


He crossed his arms, “I thought I was goin’ to have your undivided attention.”   


You laughed, “Maybe later. Go talk to Mina, she's looking at you.”

She was the only other person in the room and she’d been watching Joey with her chin in her hand since the kids had left. Then second Joey turned to look, she faced the other way, cheeks turning pink. 

“Oh yeah, you wanna experience the J-Man’s technique first hand, huh?”

You pulled out your phone, “Sure do. Go get em’, tiger”

Joey winked and turned on his heel, you finally answered your phone.

“Who is it? I'm working.”   


“Do you know how many times I’ve called you? Do you think i have time to waste?”   


You hid your face in a hand, “Oh my god. Why are you calling me again?”   


Kaiba huffed into the phone, because it was Kaiba again, “Does it matter? Apparently you're too busy to answer me anyway.”   


“I’m at work, Kaiba”   


“No you’re not. You finish early on thursdays.”   


”Okay…” You started, “I'm not even going to ask how you know that, but I’m working extra hours today, there was a duel to cover.”   


“Ah, well...” There was a pregnant pause, “You should have told me when I called the first time. Do you get a kick out of wasting my time?”   


He had you there, you really should have answered the first call, regardless of who it was. Kaiba was an ass, but you were a serial phone ignorer.    


“Yeah, sorry. My bad. It’s not really an excuse, but I thought it might be my parents. They bought a new wireless router and keep asking me to ride the train for eight hours and fix it for them.”   


“Where do they live?”   


You blinked, “uhhhh, bottom end of the country, near Nagasaki. Why?”   


You heard typing through the phone, you guess Kaiba was sitting at his desk, “I have a small office down there. If you give me their email address I can book someone to go around and help.”   


“You think my parents have an email address?” you snorted into the phone.   


Kaiba laughed pleasantly and it made your stomach feel weird, “a phone number will do just as well.”

* * *

  
It was weird when your parents called a few days later to say that a very nice boy from Kaiba Corp had dropped by and set up their router. Your mother tried to chew you out for avoiding a chance to visit, ignoring you everytime you explained that you didn't have the time nor the car to come see them.   


Your thoughts have been elsewhere though, it was uncharacteristically good natured of Kaiba to help you like that. You started to over think things as you often did. Stewing in front of your laptop and staring into a digitised version of his big blue eyes. What an asshole. There's no way he helped you just to be nice. You didn't trust that easily, you especially didn't trust  _ Kaiba  _ that easily.  Backing out of the image you had been glaring at, Google very helpfully showed you a picture of him ascending the stairs in front of Kaiba Corp building. The cameraman was pretty low down and Kaiba’s pants were...tight. You groaned and hid your face in your hands. That ass of a man had a nice ass. You tried not to look at it again. Really, honestly tried. But he just...he had...such long legs and…

You slammed your laptop shut and went to bed.


	3. Roses

‘And with that-‘ you wrote ‘-I’m sure even the most inexperienced duelist could run Seto Kaiba’s tight ass into the ground’

You felt your cheeks flush and frowned, quickly deleting the word  _ tight _ . Your next monthly slam piece on Kaiba was due in a few days, and for the first time it just wasn’t coming to you. Usually you were ruthless, but today you couldn’t stop yourself from slipping in the occasional compliment and it was very clear you were distracted. The thought of how that tight ass would feel gripped in the palm of your hand wasn’t at the forefront of your mind, certainly not. A shudder went through you. 

It had been awhile since you’d masturbated and looking at the half-finished article you knew you had to do something or it would never be finished. You should do it, you thought. Just to get your mind clear.

That’s all.

* * *

When the phone rang you were still short of breath. The fingers on your right hand were still slick and your legs were still jelly. You hadn’t been thinking about a pair of smug blue eyes looking up at you from between your thighs, you hadn’t been thinking about tugging on soft brown hair and you  _ absolutely _ hadn’t let his name slip from your lips as you came. Definitely not.

The call, it turned out, was from the man himself. As the saying goes, “think of the devil eating you out and he shall appear”

“Hello, Kaiba.” You said, trying desperately to sound like you hadn’t just been knuckles deep inside yourself, “to what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“What’s your home address?” He asked. No greeting, of course.

You snorted, “none of your business, rich boy.”

“I’m asking. That makes it my business.”

With a huff, you rolled onto your stomach, “look, Kaiba. If I wanted unexpected house calls from you I’d have said. But surprise surprise I  _ don’t _ “

“I’m not going to be making house calls.”

“Then why do you need my address? Planning to ding dong ditch my house? Seems a little childish, even for you.” As subtly as possible, you leaned for the tissue box you kept on the desk across from your bed. It was just a little out of reach but you didn’t feel like standing just yet.

“Stop being so stubborn and just tell-“

“Fuck!” You said, accidentally knocking the box to the ground.

“-What was that?”

Groaning, you reached down and managed to grab the tissue box from the floor, “dropped my tissues.”

“What do you need those for?” Kaiba asked, almost accusatory, “are you sick?”

You scoffed, “no-“ pulling three from the box you started cleaning the sopping mess at the apex of your thighs, “-tissues have plenty of uses, Bud.”

Kaiba hummed on the other end of the phone, and for some reason you felt that he knew exactly what you were doing.

“Anyway, I’m not giving you what you want, so can you just leave me alone? I have articles to write.”

That got his attention, “About me?”

“Not everything I write is about you.” You said, even though the article you’d been working on was about him.

“Most of it is.”

“You’re a very high profile duelist, what do you expect?” You tossed the soiled tissues into the bin beside your bed, “besides, I thought you loved the attention.”

He hummed again. Almost daring you to try and make another excuse, “I have better things to do than talk to you, you know.”

“Then why do you keep calling?” 

“I...”

“If you insist on giving me all this attention, im going to assume you're sweet on me. We wouldn't want that would we?” You kind of did want that. That was why you’d touched yourself while thinking about him, “You still there, Kaiba?”

It was muffled, but you could just barely hear what sounded like Kaiba arguing with someone on the other end of the phone. The phone clattered as it was tossed on a desk, and then you could hear a pair of hands fumbling with it. It didn't sound like Kaiba had picked the phone up, he was still yelling about something in the distance. 

“Hey-” a voice that  _ wasn't  _ Kaiba said. 

“Yeah, who is this?” 

More fumbling, you think the phone fell on the ground at some point, and then Kaiba was back and a little out of breath.

“It’s still me.” 

You frowned, “Who was that other person?”   
  


“A  _ nuisance _ .” 

“Oh cool. Tell the nuisance I said hi.”

“Hah. Sure.” He paused, breathing quietly into the phone. Your heart was racing, and it definitely wasn't just the aftermath of your very recent orgasm, “Look, I have to go. You still won't give me your address?”

“Ask me out to dinner first, then I’ll think about it.” You said, it was only half a joke.

He hummed into the phone again, “Fine. I have work to do. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, see you.”

A pause

“Have a nice night.” he said much too quickly, and then ended the call.

It was an afterthought, but it was still a thought, and that's what counted.

* * *

When you entered your office that morning everyone was giving you a strange look. Half of them looked excited, the other half looked incredibly nervous. Taking a sip of your coffee, you turned to the nearest person, one of your summer interns.

“Everything alright?”

She nodded.

“Then why are you all looking at me like that?”

She chewed her lower lip, and pointed at your office door, “you’ll see”

Raising an eyebrow you opened the door and you sure did see.

“What the fuck....?” You whispered.

The room was filled head to toe with vases and vases of flowers. All red, all roses, “What the  _ fuck _ “

The intern popped her head in, “there’s a note.” She said, pointing to the largest vase in the middle, “I’ll admit, we read it. We wanted to know who did it, but there was no name.”

“So it wasn’t any of you?”

She shook her head, “they were already here when we came in this morning. We have no idea how they got in...”

With that, you picked up the note and immediately felt your stomach drop to your toes,

_ ‘If you weren’t so stubborn. I’d have sent these to your house’ _

Somebody sure had asked you for your home address and you sure hadn’t given it to him.

“Could you all just give me a second...I need to make a call.”

The congregation of employees standing at your office door quickly dispersed and you were finally able to lock yourself in. Moving one of the large vases from your office chair, you sat down with a huff and looked for Kaiba’s number in your recent calls. You’d never bothered adding him to your contacts, but it was starting to look like you should consider it.

The phone only rang once before he answered it.

“What?”

You rolled your eyes, “Hello to you too, Kaiba.”

“I don’t have time for you right now, what is it?”

“Oh, I dunno, it might sometime to do with the roses  _ filling my office _ . I need space to work you know, one vase would have been fine. None would have been preferable.”

“I would have sent them to your house. Didn’t you read the note? I shouldn’t need to explain this to you.”

“Yes I read the note, Kaiba. What I really want to know is  _ why _ you sent them.”

He didn’t reply. At least not as quickly as you were used to, part of you considered that maybe he thought your question was so stupid that he wasn’t even going to bother answering it. That seemed in line with his character.

“Hello?” You said, “Earth to Kaiba, do you read me?”

You could hear him huff into the receiver, clearly unhappy with what you’d just said. Despite this, he decided to drop a bomb on the conversation, “Come to dinner with me.”

“What...?” You said, embarrassed about the way your voice cracked on a one syllable word.

“Say yes before I change my mind.”

“Kaiba. Why do you think I’d want-“ you cut yourself off. Because you’d asked him to. The night before, you had half-joked about him asking you to dinner. He was really doing it. You gulped. You hadn’t been able to get him off your mind and a bolt of electricity ran up your spine every time you thought about him. There was  _ something _ there. It was time to find out if you just liked him for his legs or if maybe.....his  _ personality _ was growing on you, “-You know what. Fine. When?”

“Tonight. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

“From where? You don’t have my address.” You said, feeling a smile tug at the corners of your lips.

“You’ll have to give it to me.” He was smirking, you could hear it.

“Hmm, very clever. You’ve got me this time.”

“Of course, it would be stupid of you to expect any less.”

You chuckled, “just ring the buzzer for number six when you get there and I’ll let you up.”

“Right. I’ll see you tonight, dress nice.”

He hung up.

* * *

Dress nice, he’d said. Running a hand through your hair, you gazed into your wardrobe. Most of the nice clothes you had were pantsuits that you wore to work, you hadn’t worn anything nicer than a clean pair of jeans and polo in what felt like years. You loved your job, but it took up a lot more spare time than one might think, you didn’t have much time to go out to dinner in a nice dress. Thinking about it, you probably hadn’t even bought a dress since your last year of university. It was nice, you wore it under your graduation robes. Mossy green with a gold trim, fell just below your knees. Maybe it was still in there somewhere.

You decided it was time to put your back into it, eight o’clock was steadily approaching and while you’d be upset with yourself if you were late, you were sure Kaiba would be more upset. You’d pulled out almost everything in the closet, the dress itself was shoved on the ground right up the back. It had likely fallen a few years ago and you’d never wanted to dive in there and rescue it. It was a little crumpled from spending so long on the floor but you didn’t even own an iron so nothing could be done.

With a huff, you shucked your work clothes, kicking off the sensible heels and dress pants before shoving the dress over your head.

“Oh thank God.” You muttered. The dress still fit, it was a little tight around your stomach where you’d gained a few pounds that you weren’t too proud of, but as long as Kaiba didn’t ask you to do any acrobatics it shouldn’t be an issue. The nightmare wasn’t over yet, of course. You still needed some shoes.

You knew there was a pair of silver strappy sandals in your room somewhere. You’d bought them for a trip to the beach a year or so ago.  _ ‘These are so versatile!’ _ You’d thought to yourself at the time,  _ ‘comfy enough for the beach but dressy enough for an evening out’ _

That trip to the beach was the only time you’d worn them, predictably. The only occasion that could force you out of a reliable pair of tennis shoes was dinner with a billionaire, apparently.

The shoes, it turned out, had been shoved under your bed at some point. You were elbow deep in the dust and whatever else you had stored under there when the buzzer next to your door came to life. You’d already found one shoe, but the other one was still under the bed somewhere. Looking at the clock you had sitting on your bedside table you saw that it was still fifteen to eight.

“Of course he’s early.” You muttered to yourself. Abandoning the shoe hunt to reply to the buzz.

“Kaiba?” You asked into the intercom.

“Who else.”

You humphed, “you’re early. I’m not ready yet.”

“Can I come up?”

“Uh...” you looked around your room and saw that it looked like a bomb had just gone off. The apartment didn’t have any doors apart from the bathroom, it was an open plan affair, meaning it would be impossible to lock the mess away, “Give me a minute.”

He didn’t respond, but you assumed that meant he was fine to wait. You grabbed all of the clothes on the floor in your arms and shoved them back in the wardrobe. Usually it closes nicely, but that was when everything was hung up and not squished in. So it took quite a bit of effort to close the door enough that it clicked shut.

You headed back to the intercom and buzzed him in. “you’re good to come up now.”

“Alright.” He said, you could hear the door to the apartment block unlock through the intercom.

You unlocked the door and headed back to your search under the bed. Kaiba would be upstairs soon and you couldn’t be bothered getting up to let him in. You remembered a much simpler time, when you used to hide under the bed as a child, nowadays (despite the advantage of much longer arms) you couldn’t even reach under it. You were head and shoulders deep, swearing you could  _ just _ feel the second sandal against your fingertips when Kaiba knocked on the door.

“It’s unlocked!” You called, heaving a breath and trying to shove yourself further under the bed.

You were so focused on the shoe hunt that you didn’t bother listening for when Kaiba opened the door. You’d stretched your arm out as far as you possibly could and only managed to shove the shoe further out of your reach. It also seemed those few extra pounds you’d gained weren’t going to let you squish any further under.

“What are you doing?”

You pulled yourself out from under the bed and Kaiba loomed over you. You were at eye level with his dress shoes and noticed they were so shiny that you could see yourself reflected back in them. Apparently he had also dressed nice.

“I’m trying to find my second shoe.” You said, pulling yourself up into a kneel, “it’s under the bed but I can’t reach it. If you give me a sec I can grab the broom and pull it-“

Before you had time to finish, Kaiba knelt next to you and stretched out to reach under your bed. You were suddenly very aware of how long it had been since you’d vacuumed and hoped Kaiba wouldn’t make you pay to get his fancy suit dry cleaned. It was deep blue and probably cost more than you’d earned in your life. As he stretched out, you couldn’t help but notice his white shirt was coming dangerously close to untucking from his pants. Your cheeks warmed at the thought of even seeing an inch of his bare skin and you chastised yourself for it.

“Is this it?” He asked, producing the second sandal and you breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, Thanks.” You pulled yourself from the floor, “just let me get it on and we can-“

Kaiba’s hands grabbed your bare foot, “I’ll do it.”

“oh, wow. Okay.” You said, trying your best to keep balance on one leg. His hands were warm and he managed the straps quite quickly.

“If you’d done it yourself we would have been here all night.”

“Ah.” You started, grabbing a thin shawl from your bed, “a shameless insult! That seems more like you.”

He glowered at you, “Hurry up or we’re going to be late.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still working on the next chapter, so the wait might be a bit longer. I already had the first three finished when i started uploading.


	4. Crowds

“Leather seats suck.” You said after sliding into Kaiba’s car. It was black and clearly very expensive, but you didn’t know too much about cars, so despite the badge on the hood, you still couldn’t place the model. Part of you was afraid that it was going to be a limo or something, seeing a regular car was a relief.

Kaiba scoffed at your leather seat comment and stuck his keys in the ignition, “Tch, you only say that because you’ve never been in a car nicer than a Hyundai.” 

“Hey, you may be right. But at least I’m not going to have to peel myself from the seats of this hypothetical Hyundai when we get to the restaurant.” 

Kaiba looked at you from the corner of his eye and cranked the air conditioning.

You shrugged, “hm, yeah. I guess that works too.” 

He chuckled, and you felt surprisingly warm for someone sitting in front of a full blast air conditioning vent. He had a nice laugh when he wasn’t trying to be scary. He pulled the car out of the parking spot in front of your apartment and into the Tokyo traffic, he was a much more confident driver than you were, you hadn’t driven since moving to the city.

The car smelt like him. It was alarming that you could pin-point his scent after only meeting him once. You could also catch the mildest whiff of cleaning product, like he’d just gotten the interior of his car cleaned. Had he done that for you? You gulped. The car was roomy, but you were still  _ very  _ close to him. Move your right hand a few inches and you could catch his on the stick shift. You hadn’t driven stick since your driving lessons at least ten years ago, you hadn’t been very good at it, but Kaiba slid the car from first to second to third like it was nothing. Heaving a breath, you pulled your eyes away from his hand. This wasn’t good. You needed to calm down.

“Soooo....” You started, trying to break the tension, “you got any tunes?” 

“Sure.” He said, fishing his phone from his pocket and passing it to you, “it’s already connected to the radio.” 

He took a second to unlock it with his thumbprint. You only got a brief glimpse at his lock screen, it was a photo of him and someone you assumed was his younger brother. Mokuba, if you remembered correctly. Kaiba was trying his best to look away from the camera, Mokuba was sticking his tongue out. 

“Cool, thanks...” you replied, a little taken aback at how willing he was to pass it over to you. The phone was kind of warm and him letting you touch it at all was an oddly intimate gesture. His home screen was the default. It made you wonder if the phone was new or if he’d had it for ages and never bothered changing it. You were too poor to know which number the most recent iPhone was, or even what it looked like. All you could tell was this phone was nicer than yours.

He didn’t have Spotify, and you figured downloading it for him would be pretty rude. So you just tapped into his music library. It was mostly classical stuff that you didn’t recognise or coffee shop jazz. From what you could guess, he mostly used music as background noise when he was working. 

There was also a playlist called, “songs normal people in their 20s listen to” the album art was his brother again. It looked like he’d drawn a set of sunglasses on himself and scrawled a big 420 in the top right. You snickered and Kaiba turned to glance at the phone.

“Ah.” He said, “that’s Mokuba’s music.” 

“You let him make you a playlist?” You asked, scrolling through it. Mokuba had decent, if a little obvious, taste. 

“I didn’t  _ let  _ him. He stole my phone.” 

You laughed, hitting shuffle on the playlist. The radio started blaring Arctic Monkeys, “And you didn’t delete it?” 

He shrugged, still watching the road, “he wants me to engage with millennial culture more.” 

“Hah, good luck. The core facet of millennial culture is being dirt poor. Something I have mastered, as I’m sure you noticed when you had the misfortune of coming up to my apartment today.”

“It was...” he paused for a moment, flicking the indicator and taking a sharp left, “...quaint.” 

You snorted, “oh nah, it’s the worst. I had rats a month ago.  _ Rats _ .” 

“You want my honest opinion?” 

“Oh absolutely!” 

“I’m surprised the building is still standing.” He said, pulling the car to a stop at a red light.

“Hah! Maybe you can get my landlord to lower the rent.” 

He leveled his gaze with you, eyes still very blue, “I could. If you wanted.” 

You gulped. Was he serious? What the hell were you thinking  _ of course  _ he was serious. There was a hint of pride in his eyes, he was probably happy with the way he’d made you squirm. Nothing was sexier in your book than affordable rent, but you weren’t entirely ready for anyone else in your life (including you shitty landlord) to have to come face to face with the...friendship?...rivalry?...whatever it was you had with Kaiba.

“Don’t sweat it.” You said, even though you were definitely sweating, “I’ve been thinking about turning tricks on the side anyway.” 

He made a point of not laughing at your joke. Though in retrospect, it wasn’t very funny

“Is it much further?” You asked, the tension in the car could have been cut with a knife. 

“No.” He replied, shifting the car into fourth, “It’s on the next block.”

You nodded, “Neato.” 

“Just uh-“ he looked past you and out of your window.

You followed his gaze and muttered, “You motherfucker”

“Just keep your head down.” 

The restaurant was new. And tonight was opening night. Which Kaiba had failed to mention. The line for the restaurant trailed all the way down the block and around the corner, it was a lot more people than you were comfortable with seeing you in a dress that was a size too small.

“I thought we were just going to a sushi place or something!” 

“They have sushi.” 

That’s-“ you groaned, “that’s not what I meant! I didn’t even try doing anything to my hair.” 

It was hanging limply over your shoulders, and hadn’t been washed since yesterday morning. Not that you would have put too much more effort in if he’d asked you to, but you might have put in at least  _ some  _ effort.

“Calm down. If you weren’t dressed well enough I would have told you.”

“Oh yeah, cheers, buddy. Real considerate. Look at you in your Arami fucking suit! Jesus!” 

“It’s Armani.” 

You threw your arms up, “oh what _ ever _ . My dress is from TARGET.”

He finally pulled over and pulled the keys from the ignition. Whatever song that was playing from Mokuba’s playlist stopped mid-chorus. 

“Here. Turn around.” He said, unclicking his seatbelt and turning to face you. You raised an eyebrow but did as he asked, undoing your own seatbelt and turning away from him. 

You almost jumped when you felt his fingers touch your hair, but again, you tried your best to stay calm. It might have been your imagination, but it felt like his hands were shaking. 

“Are you...braiding?” 

He huffed, “obviously.” 

“Where did you learn to do that?” 

“Mokuba has a lot of hair.” 

You barked a laugh, “and you braided it?” 

“When he was younger, yes.” As he finished up the end of your hair, his knuckles brushed the base of your neck, you shuddered, “do you have something to tie this with?” 

You did. You always had a hair-tie around your wrist in case you needed to get your hair out of your face. Or if you had a half finished bag of chips that needed sealing. You slipped it off and held it over your shoulder for him.

“Thanks.” He tied the braid off and quickly returned to his side of the car, “will that stop you complaining?” 

He had his arms crossed and he was scowling, but his eyes told a different story. You brought the braid over your shoulder to take a look, it wasn’t fancy, but it was neater than you could have done backwards. 

“It’ll stop me complaining for now.” 

“I’ll have to count my blessings.” He opened his door, “now get out or we’ll miss our reservation.”

You were nervous opening your door. Crowds didn’t usually make you feel this way, but that was because you hid behind a guise of not caring what you looked like. Tonight though, you had honest to god tried to look nice, and you could feel everyone’s eyes on you. Kaiba was in his element, walking ahead of you at a pace you couldn’t keep up with. You heard the car beep as he locked it remotely and jogged to catch up with him.

“Kaiba?” 

“Mm?” He said, still walking.

“Why are there cameras here?” 

“Because I’m here.” He looked back at you over his shoulder, glare softening a bit at your obvious discomfort, “Walk next to me. Look down.” 

Usually you would have bit back with an insult, but with all the noise and flashing lights you didn’t have the energy. He stopped for a moment so you could catch up and you kept your head down like he’d said. You didn’t feel like getting calls from your parents about why your unwashed hair was all over the news. 

Looking down, you focused intently on your toes. The blue nail polish you’d tried putting on a few weeks ago was chipping something terrible. 

“Not used to the attention?” He asked

“Nope.” You replied, still admiring your toes, “usually I’m the one  _ taking  _ the photos and that is how I prefer it.”

“You’re walking slow.” 

You snorted, “good observation. That would be because I can’t see.” 

You were still trying your best to keep your face to the ground when Kaiba grabbed your hand. Despite your best efforts, that made your head fly up. He was staring down at you with a look on his face that he clearly hadn’t intended you to see, because he immediately turned the other way and started tugging you to the doors of the restaurant. There was something in eyes, then. Something that made your stomach flip. Regardless, you let him lead you through the double doors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol, this and the next TWO chapters were originally just one. but i had to chop it up, it was so long...still finishing up the next two. so gimme a mo. Also! listen to Mokuba's playlist here, https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rs0kBIqxbbGhfEZvTmUt6?si=mqDpTdhlQnytzaTLOfaazg


	5. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oop, sorry that took so long. It's all done now though so ill probably upload the next two chapters in the coming weeks. The next chapter gets steamy btw, so be excited.

The sounds of the crowd behind you dissipated entirely when the doors closed and you were glad for it, Kaiba was still holding your hand, even though he didn't need to anymore. Your hand looked tiny in his, and you were worried it was starting to get sweaty. The second Kaiba saw you looking down at your joined hands, he tugged his away and crossed his arms. You rubbed your hand on your dress, because it had definitely been getting sweaty. 

“Oh! Kaiba, sir.” A nervous looking waiter called, he shuffled over as quickly as he could, “Your table is ready if you want to sit down.” 

Kaiba didn't say anything in return, just started walking into the seating area. The waiter dithered around for a moment before giving you a look. 

“Are you with him?” He asked

You shrugged, “I guess.”

“Is he always like that?”

“Pretty much.”

He sighed, “Do you need help finding the table or…?”

You dismissed him with a wave, “Don’t worry about it, I'll just follow Kaiba. Which would be easier if he didn't walk so fast.”

“Alright, well, have a nice evening.” 

You looked over to where Kaiba was waiting, he was leaning against a wall next to what looked like a private eating area. It had curtains and everything, “I’ll try my best.”

Kaiba was not happy when you caught up to him. He made a point of glaring at you, you rolled your eyes at him and he glared harder. 

“Are you done making friends with the staff?”

You shrugged, “Not yet. I was thinking about going out back and chatting up the chef.”

“Well, dont.” He said, pushing past the curtain and taking a seat at the circle table in the small alcove, “Because then you’d have to catch a taxi home and i would  _ not  _ be paying.”

“Oof.” You replied, following suit and sitting across from him. There was bread in the middle of the table already, you took a roll and started munching, “You need to chill, i was just being polite.” 

He leaned back in his chair, trying desperately not to make eye contact with you, “I  _ am  _ chill.”

That made you laugh, “You? Chill? Never.” 

He ignored your comment, sitting up straight and grabbing the drinks menu from the middle of the table. You were still happy eating your bread. It was warm, how often is complimentary bread still  _ warm _ ? When you looked up from the bread basket, Kaiba was in the middle of grabbing his glasses from his pocket and slipping them on. They really suited him. You’d probably need glasses in a few years with how much time you spent on a computer, you hoped you would look even half as good as him. They softened his face a little bit, and with the way he loved to glare, his face sorely needed softening. 

“What do you drink?” Kaiba asked, peering at you over the rim of his glasses.

You had been in the middle of trying to get a sesame seed out from between your teeth, you pulled the seed out and flicked it away. Kaiba visibly cringed.

“Beer, usually.”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” He looked back up at you, “can you manage red wine? Or will something worth more than 500 yen cause your insides to dissolve?”

You snorted, “yeah I can drink wine, but only because you asked so nicely.” 

“Enjoy it while you can. I’m not known for being nice.” He said, giving the waiter a look and gesturing for him to come over. You took another roll and started chewing, Kaiba frowned, “Are you going to eat  _ all  _ the bread?”

“Maybe. Is there a menu? Because as far as I can see right now, it’s all bread.”

“We don't need a menu, I’m ordering.”

“Oh are you, big guy?” You leaned forward, elbows on the table, “what if im vegan, what are you going to do then?”

He scoffed, “You aren't vegan. No allergies either. I did my research.”

“Wow. You do know that there isn't usually a research component involed in da-” you cut yourself off. You were about to say  _ dates _ . If this was a date, you and Kaiba were  _ dating _ . That was how it worked, and you did not like how it worked. He was staring, waiting for you to finish your thought. You cleared your throat, “-in dinners.” 

Before Kaiba had time to reply - or god forbid, ask why you’d corrected yourself- the waiter came over clicking a pen loudly and waiting for your order. You didn't even have time to open your mouth before Kaiba listed off a long and fancy string of items, you didn't even know what half the stuff he was asking for was. The waiter was writing furiously and Kaiba just kept going, it looked like the poor guy was going to shove his pen right through the notepad. 

“Dessert?” Kaiba said.

You blinked, not even sure he was talking to you, “What?”

“Do you want dessert? Are you deaf?”

You ignored Kaiba’s insult, turning to give the waiter a sympathetic look, “Cheesecake if you have it.”

He nodded, turning on his heel and walking away like someone who didn't want to spend another second being glared at by Kaiba. You did not have that luxury, and now, you had to wait until the food came out. God knows how long that could take. 

Kaiba cleared his throat, clearly trying to break the silence, “So. That new expansion was a disaster” 

_ Oh yes _ , you thought. This was something you actually wanted to talk about. “ I know right! what was Industrial Illusions even thinking?”

“That new trap card that lets players switch decks with their opponents-“

“-is absolute garbage! You’re so right! It’s going to be tournament banned right away, no way they’re going to let that get into the meta.”

“The argument that it was developed for the casual scene is ludicrous as well. No one is going to work on building a tournament ready deck if they can rely on stealing one from an opponent who actually took time to build theirs.” 

“Exactly!” You exclaimed, leaning forward on your elbows, “and you  _ know _ people are going to be building entire decks around it. It's going to be crazy. God, what was that card even called it was something really dumb-“ 

“Dark cup.” 

“Dark  _ fucking _ cup! That’s not even a cool name! At least give the game breaking card a cool name!”

“The expansion was only half the usual size as well.” 

“Oh oh OH! But it was still the same price! Maybe Industrial Illusions  _ should  _ sell the game to you, at least you know how to price your products fairly.” You huffed and slumped back in your chair, “Do they realise the majority of their consumers are kids? No wonder people have started printing their own decks from the internet.” 

Kaiba leaned forward, resting one arm flat on the table, “you think I haven't been trying to buy it from them? They won’t sell.” 

The waiter came back then, cradling a very large and likely very expensive bottle of red wine. He had it wrapped in a towel and his grip on it was white knuckle tight. He whispered a quiet  _ sorry  _ as he leaned past the two of you to place the wine on the table.  The waiter nervously uncorked the bottle and poured a glass for the two of you, “Thanks.” you said to him, smiling politely. 

The waiter returned your smile with a dip of his head, then backed away as fast as he could. 

“The staff is afraid of you.”

Kaiba sipped his wine, “Everyone is afraid of me.”

“I’m not.” You also sipped your wine, though a lot less elegantly, “Don’t you get tired of people running when they see you coming?”

“It’s good for business.”

“Yeah, sure. I'll give you that, but it isn't good for what we’re doing right now.”

“Having dinner?”

“Yeah!” You leant forward on your elbows, “aren't you worried one of them is going to spit in your food?”

He scoffed, “They wouldn't  _ dare _ .” 

“The could though. Don't you ever worry about that? About what people think of you?”

“Not anymore.” He said that very tersely, warning you not to pry anymore. When he sipped his wine again, he was avoiding your eyes. 

You felt a pang in your chest, you hadn't ever really stopped to think about the kind of toll that maintaining an image as large as Kaiba’s would have on a person. On closer inspection, you could see the beginnings of bags under his eyes. The man was stressed. You swallowed. 

“How’s Mokuba?”

He blinked at you, a look of surprise washed over his face, “He’s good. He starts university next year.” 

“Domino U?”

He shook his head, avoiding your eyes, “He’s moving to the states.”

“Ah.” 

“Yeah.”

You managed a smile, “You’ve got a private jet though, right? You can just go visit. It’s no big deal.”

“The house is empty as it is.”

Oh yeah. The mansion. You’d gone past on the bus once or twice, you’d need at least 30 friends to fill that place. You knew Kaiba was lacking in that department. You hadn't expected this dinner to be so...personal. 

Luckily the waiter came by again, dropping a very small sushi entree on the table. Four rolls in total. Two each.

“Geez.” You said, “You might need to drop me off at McDonalds on the way back, this is the smallest plate of food i've ever seen.”

Kaiba leaned forward and picked his roll up with a set of lacquered chopsticks, “You get what you pay for.”

You snorted, “And how much did you pay, 500 yen?”

“50,000”

“50-  _ what?? _ ” You looked down at the sushi, trying to find the gold plating or diamond encrusted rice that you were sure  _ must  _ be present to justify the price, “It’s four sushi rolls! Why did you pay so much??”

He glowered at you, “Just eat the sushi.”

The food just kept coming, but it was all that expensive restaurant food. Tiny servings,  _ massive  _ plates. There was no way you would ever understand rich people. You’d been pretty diligent in trying everything, except the oysters, that was where you drew the line. Kaiba was a tidy eater, which did not come as a surprise. You were good with chopsticks after years of instant ramen, but you always managed to get food all over yourself when it came to knives and forks, you’d been without incident so far, but you knew there was only so long that could last. 

  
  
  


“You know.” You started, pushing a meatball around your plate. You were halfway through your third glass of wine and  _ just  _ starting to feel it, “my friends and I at the office used to have the funniest joke about you.” 

“Oh?” 

You popped the meatball into your mouth, “Yeah, you wouldn’t like it.” 

“Oh no, please enlighten me.” 

“We used to joke that you’d never lost your virginity, you know, cause you never lose?”

He looked you dead in the eyes, and suddenly the joke wasn't funny. Your stomach twisted.

“I can  _ assure  _ you I’m no virgin.” 

That sounded like a promise. You gulped, quickly going to drink more wine.

Things didn't really go downhill until dessert. The cheesecake you’d ordered came out, it was the smallest slice of cake you had ever seen and there was only a pathetic dribble of strawberry sauce which wasn't even on top of the cake. They’d put all of the sauce  _ beside  _ the cake, which as far as you were concerned, defeated the purpose. There was also something else on the cheesecake and while you had a suspicion, you’d never seen one in person.

“Is that... a gold flake?” You asked

“Of course.” Kaiba said. 

Reaching out with your dessert spoon, you prodded the flake. It was cut into a triangle and delicately balanced on top of the cheesecake, “can i eat it?”

“That’s the point.”

You frowned, picking the gold up with your index finger and thumb, then popping it into your mouth, “It tastes like nothing.”

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, “would you rather it tasted like metal?”

“I'd rather it tasted like  _ something _ .” 

He pushed the plate towards you and leaned back in his chair, “Eat the cheesecake then.”

“Fine.” You took a big scoop with your spoon, it was pretty good. You then went out of your way to dip into the sauce on the side, though you weren't sure if you were supposed to do that or not. It tasted even better, “Oh wow. That sauce is really nice.”

Kaiba smirked, “you have a sweet tooth.”

You frowned, “I enjoy cheesecake the normal amount, thank you.”

“Maybe I should have sent chocolates instead of roses.”

“Shut up.” You got another spoon of cheesecake, but stopped yourself before eating it, “do  _ you  _ have a sweet tooth?”

He scoffed, “No.”

You held the spoon out to him, a grin stretching across your face, “Prove it.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to the likes of you.”

“Aw, c’mon. You bought it, might as well taste it.”

He frowned at you, but leaned forward all the same. Your heart was racing, why was your heart racing? He took the spoon into his mouth, and you all but had to avert your eyes. That made you feel something, something  _ deep _ . You cleared your throat, “How was it?”

“Good, but not my taste.” He reclined back in his chair again and gestured to the plate, “Finish it. I bought it for you.”

You would have enjoyed your next few bites of the cheesecake more if you weren’t so focussed on how close Kaiba’s legs were. Hell, you were almost knocking knees. Your brain was giving you a consistent stream of terrible ideas involving his legs and your feet. Your shoes were toeless, you could run your toes right up from his ankle to his thigh and maybe if you wanted...even higher. You gripped your spoon harder, heart beating in your ears. What were you  _ thinking? _

“Your posture is terrible.” Kaiba said, pulling you from your thoughts.

“What?”

“ _ I said  _ your posture is terrible”

You scoffed, playful insults were familiar territory, “I’m hunched over a laptop all day, what do you expect?”

Kaiba gestured at you with his wine glass, “you’re going to have neck problems later in life.”

“I have neck problems now.”

“I have a personal masseuse. I can book you an appointment.” He replied, taking a sip of his wine.

You followed his lead, finishing off your fourth glass, hands shaking, “I hate massages. My waist is ticklish”   
  


Kaiba rolled his eyes, “I’m sure you can tell him not to grab your waist.” He paused for a moment, seeming to consider his words, “You wouldn’t be able to stop me, though.”

You spluttered, trying your best to stop wine from spraying everywhere, “excuse me?”

He looked you dead in the eyes, “you heard me.”

You were suddenly feeling very warm. This was bad.

The poor waiter came by and poured the two of you more wine. It felt like he was pretending not to notice the way you writhed in your seat at the thought of Kaiba getting his hands on you. After the waiter left, you all but downed that new fifth glass. You needed more alcohol to steel your nerves for the stupid thing you were about to do. Kaiba was watching you from across the table, he didn't look angry about you sculling half a glass of very expensive wine, he looked intrigued, like he was waiting to see what you’d do next. You swallowed, slowly inching your foot outwards. Kaiba flinched when your toes met the area just below his knee, you smiled, the best, sexiest smile you could manage. 

“I mean…” you started, running your foot down to his ankle then back up again. You were doing this, “If you did want to touch me…” you were really fucking doing this, “I dont think I’d  _ want  _ to stop you.”

And there it was, out in the open. You’d think the revelation that the two of you wanted to take a trip to pound town would be a relief, but it wasn’t. A thick cloud of awkwardness hung in the air as the weird nebulous mess of flirtation and insults finally became something tangible. 

Kaiba blinked at you for a moment, frozen in place. You could tell by now when he was trying to figure out what to say, in the end, he settled on, “Let’s get out of here.” 


	6. Things Come to a Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *eyes emoji*

Kaiba’s eyes faced ever forward as he watched the road. The Tokyo nightlife rushing past the car windows in a blur, he was hitting at least ten Ks over the speed limit and taking corners like a stunt man with a deathwish. Part of you had expected him to rip your clothes off the second he had you in the car, you sort of wished he had done that, just to avoid this awkward, dangerous car ride.

He took a right turn so sharp that you almost fell over, grabbing the first thing you could get your hands on. You heard him breathe sharply and saw his grip tightened on the steering wheel. It was only then that you noticed your tight grip on his thigh.

“Sorry” you said, pulling your hand away like you’d burned him.

He cleared his throat, “it’s fine.”

You were both unbelievably turned on, that was a fact at this point. Kaiba was taking deep breaths in through his nose like he was trying to keep just focused enough not to kill the both of you in a fiery accident. You were all but writing in your seat, jittery with the knowledge of what was sure to come when you made it back to your apartment. 

“Do you have your keys?” He forced out.

You nodded. They had been clenched in the palm of your hand since you got in the car, “Take a left here.” 

“I know.” He said, slamming the car down to second to take the corner only  _ slightly  _ slower than the rest of the drive had been. You could see your apartment in the distance, getting closer and closer. Your knees were shaking, “parking spot?”

“No. I don’t have a car.”

“Fuck.” He hissed, sliding the car into a no standing zone and unbuckling his seatbelt. 

You fumbled with your own, hands shaky and useless, as Kaiba rounded the car and flung your door open, “You’re going to get a ticket.” 

“I can afford a ticket.” He reached into the car and grabbed your hand, pulling you to your feet. You all but ran to the door of the apartment building. It took three tries to get the key into the keyhole. Kaiba had a hand on your ass, as though that  _ wasn't  _ going to have an effect on your already poor motor skills. 

You made it to the elevator, that was a feat of its own. The second the door closed he tugged you forward by your shoulders and his lips were crushed against yours. The grip on your shoulders was tight but not forceful, you were so shocked that you didn’t have time to close your eyes. His eyes were closed, his expression was remarkably soft. Your heart was racing like you’d just run a marathon and your hands were still crammed in between your bodies, trying to find purchase somewhere on his chest.

The elevator dinged and you pulled away from him. His eyes flung open, as blue as ever, “This still cool?”

He nodded loosely, his grip on your shoulders growing tighter. You could see he was breathing heavily, his cheeks were flushed. You took him by the wrist and tugged him over to your door, fumbling a little with the key but eventually pulling it open. There was a weird moment before the door clicked shut behind you, where you dimly realised that billionaire Seto Kaiba was in your messy one-bedroom apartment fully intending to have sex with you.

You turned to look up at him. His eyes were hungry, and you were sure yours looked similar. He pushed the door shut. The lock clicked. Then you grabbed him by the lapels and pulled his lips back down to yours. He made a shocked noise against your lips and you felt yourself smile against your better judgment. His arms snaked around your waist and tugged you closer still while your fingers tangled in that hair that you absolutely hadn’t been dreaming about these past few weeks. He was quite a bit taller than you, you were craning up and he was leaning down.

Kaiba pushed you up against the wall, groaning deeply into your mouth. With the wall against your back you were able to hook your leg around his hips without toppling over, he slid his hand under your knee and hiked your leg up higher, pulling you even closer against him and you couldn’t help moaning at the friction.When his mouth dropped open and his tongue entered your mouth it took your breath away. You moaned again, louder this time, not holding back.

“Kaiba....” you breathed, almost ashamed at how good his name felt on your tongue.

He growled at that, teeth sinking into the soft skin at the join between your neck and shoulder. You moaned, despite your best attempts not to. He pulled away from you, the both of you breathless, he kissed you just below your ear, surprisingly tender.

“Hold tight.” He whispered into your ear, his voice hoarse and delicious.

You wrapped your arms tightly around his neck and he grabbed your other leg, hoisting you up to hook both around his waist. At this moment you were very happy that your apartment was tiny, because Kaiba was throwing you on the bed in three seconds flat. The old springs complained under the weight, but you were beyond caring, shoving Kaiba’s suit jacket off his shoulders and tugging him forward by his tie. His lips crashed against yours again, it was a mess of a kiss, all teeth and tongue. He still tasted like that dessert you never ended up finishing. 

“I want this off” he growled, staring at your dress. You pulled yourself up so he’d have access to your zipper and he immediately took it. But he was only able to get it halfway down, the zipper was stuck. Kaiba tugged and tugged but it wouldn’t come down.

“Fuck! Let me try.” You said, hands shakily moving around to your back.

“Don’t bother.”

Then he ripped it. Right down the back. If you’d been a bigger fan of the dress you might have been annoyed, but right now, all you were was turned on.

“Careful, rich boy. I might have to rip your fancy Armani shirt now.” You said with a smirk

“Do it.” Kaiba breathed, voice like gravel coated in caramel. He leaned into you, his lips barely brushing yours, “I can buy more.”

You didn’t need to be told twice, grabbing the silky shirt from the front and pulling until all of the buttons burst. Kaiba groaned and it rumbled through his chest. Speaking of, his chest was a marvel. Based on your own quickly depreciating physique, you’d assume that Kaiba would be scrawny at best from bumming around an office all day. You were almost angry that he’d clearly been fitting in time to go to the gym.

“You’re staring.” He said, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Fuck off.” You said, quickly working to kiss that stupid smirk away. Fingers moving almost without you willing them to, across the toned plane of his stomach. 

His hands found the hem of your dress and worked on pulling it up over your head. You hadn't been wearing a bra, you shuddered when your chest was suddenly met with cool air. Lucky Kaiba solved that problem very quickly, one breast being tended to by his hand, the other by his mouth. Your head lolled back and you groaned, it had been a long time since someone had done that. The angle was a little awkward, but you still managed to bury one hand in his hair and shove the other down the front of his pants. You felt his breath hitch against your nipple when you wrapped your hand around his cock. 

You adjusted your grip a little, there still wasn't much you were able to do in the way of jerking off. Your arm was twisted too awkwardly for that. So you focused on rubbing the pad of your thumb over his swollen head. He groaned against your skin, pressing his forehead to your chest and kissing the valley between your breasts.

It wasn’t until he started kissing his way down your stomach that you remembered you hadn't thought to put on your only sexy panties. Kaiba honest-to-god snickered when he saw what pair you were wearing. He was kneeling at the end of the bed and lifted one of your legs up to kiss your inner thigh. 

“These are cute.” He said, running a finger much too slowly down the front of your panties. You twitched at the featherlight contact.

“Shut- _ hnng”  _ you took a deep breath, “Shut up!” 

They were pink and covered in little strawberries. Cute patterned underwear was a weakness of yours, and it was annoying that Kaiba of all people had to learn that about you. 

“Are all your panties like this?” He breathed, hooking his fingers around the elastic and slowly tugging the underwear over your hips. You had to wiggle a little to raise off the bed enough that he could pull them out from under you. 

“No!” You replied, “I just think the patterns are-“ 

Your train of thought stopped when he slung your legs over his shoulders, giving you this wicked grin from between your thighs. As if you weren’t wet enough already, that look made you  _ soaked.  _ He bent his head down and languidly ran his tongue up you, managing to never break eye contact. You hissed a breath in through your teeth, fingers gripping white-knuckled in the bedsheets. You felt more than heard him laugh at you, his breath cool against your wetness. You tried to tell him to shut up, but all you could manage was a shaky moan when he gave your clit one sharp lick. It made you jump. He was clearly toying with you, blue eyes gleaming with pride. 

Finally,  _ finally _ he started eating you out in earnest, tongue circling your clit once, twice,  _ three fucking times _ before he pulled it between his lips and  _ sucked _ . You fisted your hand in his hair and threw your head back. It was better than you’d dreamed. Not that you would ever give Kaiba the satisfaction of knowing you’d fantasied about him going down on you. Your toes curled tight and you hooked your ankles behind his head, trying to pull him in closer to you. He wasn’t having it, taking his time, outright refusing to give you the tongue fucking your body was begging him for. 

“Kaiba could you-  _ hnngg _ “ 

He peered up at you, you could just see his eyes over the crest of your stomach, “yes? Did you need something?” 

“Oh  _ you! _ You know what I need you, asshole.”

“You’ll have to be more specific.” He leant down and gave your clit one solid lick, you all but growled, fingers buried in his hair tugging tight.

“C’mon! Just stick your fingers in me already.” 

He hummed against you, the vibrations making you shiver, “Alright.” 

Then he shoved two fingers inside you, all the way up to the third knuckle in one quick movement. You yelped. If you hadn’t been so thoroughly drenched that probably would have hurt. You felt him laugh against your skin again, fingers setting an almost brutal pace while his tongue lapped at you like a man starved. 

“Ffffuuu-I’m gonna...” you gripped the sheets tighter, hips grinding sinfully against his face, “I...I...” 

Then he stopped. Because of course he did. You were quivering, just teetering on the edge of what would have been a great fucking orgasm if Kaiba hadn’t stopped. You leant upon your elbows, shooting him the best glare you could manage at the moment

He pulled himself from you, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. How did he manage to make even  _ that _ look sexy? What an  _ asshole _ . You were surprised when he crawled his way back up to you, hands resting on either side of your head, he leaned in and kissed you, just once, gently. 

“Kaiba, wha-“ 

“Seto.” He said, barely even a whisper, “please.”

You looked up at him, his face was barely inches from yours and you could feel his shaky breath of your cheeks. Those big blue eyes were blinking down at you, slowly, almost like he was nervous. Instinctually, you felt your hand reach out to cup his cheek, he closed his eyes. 

“Seto it is.” 

Then he was back, mouth hungry against yours like that reprieve had never even happened. His name felt weird and heavy in your mouth, you’d never used it before. You supposed you could get used to it, at least for tonight. Though you were sure that by tomorrow he would be Kaiba again. 

His hand was warm and firm against your breast, and his lips were latched to your neck. Sucking and biting in ways that you were sure would leave a mark. You  _ liked it _ , you liked the idea that people tomorrow might see, and that you would know who had done it. The thought alone made you moan. 

“Condom?” He whispered against the column of your throat. 

“Top drawer.” You said, nodding in its direction.

Kaiba reached over to grab it, and you spit in your palm before reaching down to grab his cock. He groaned. You couldn't see what he was doing up there, but you could hear him fumbling with the cardboard box of condoms in the drawer. 

“Who actually closes the box when they’re done?” He muttered, trying to open the top with shaking hands and you slowly pumping his dick. 

“I didn't think i’d need them for a while.” you said, smiling up at him, “also if you leave the box open they all spill out and it's like, a whole thing, you know?”

“No, I don't know.” He ripped the condom open with his teeth and passed it down to you, “make those hands of yours useful.”

“Are they not being useful already?” You tightened your grip on his cock and he moaned.

“Just do it.”

You laughed then, he was acting annoyed, but you could see him smiling, “Okay, okay. I’m on it.”

You rolled the condom on over him, and shuffled up the bed a little. Spreading your legs so he could nestle between them. He lowered himself down on one elbow, the other was wrapped around the base of his cock. Which was just barely nudging your entrance. You gulped.

“Ready?”

You kissed him, gently, “Yeah.” 

Then he was in. It looked like even he was surprised at how easily he slipped all the way to the hilt. You had been  _ soaked  _ so there was nothing stopping him. You groaned at the feeling of him inside you, loud and raw. It had been so long since you had sex, you had almost forgotten how it felt to be  _ full _ . Looking up at Kaiba, you could see his eyes clenched shut, his arms were shaking. 

“Seto.” You whispered.

His eyes snapped open. They really were beautiful eyes.

“You can move.”

Move he did. His hips snapped up against yours fast, it wasn't brutal, but it sure was intense. The tension that had been building all night finally had an outlet and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. You had one hand buried in his hair and the other was clawing the skin of his back. You could feel his shoulder muscles flexing beneath your fingers. 

“I wanna-” He heaved a ragged breath, “-go deeper. Lift up your legs.”

You did as he asked, he knelt back on his knees and rested your right foot up on his shoulder. He kissed your ankle, in an act that was uncharacteristically sweet. He was right though, this angle  _ was  _ deeper. He was hitting spots inside you that you didn't even know existed. You flung your head backwards onto the pillows and  _ howled.  _

“Fuck, Seto!” 

Something flashed behind his eyes then, his grip on your leg grew tighter, the thrusts faster,  _ deeper _ . His free hand moved down to rub your clit and you felt your whole body shudder, “Feels good, huh?”

You were only able to nod. 

“Fuck, you’re  _ shaking _ .” He brought his fingers up to his mouth and sucked, quickly returning them to your clit. Now even wetter, “Are you close?”

You were. It was like something inside you was coiling tighter and tighter, ready to snap. At this new angle, you could see every amazing inch of him. You could see the way the muscles in his abdomen clenched with every thrust, you could see his usually meticulously styled hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. His damp skin shone in the light from the streetlights outside your window, he was gorgeous. 

“I won’t last much longer.” You breathed.

“Good.” He replied, putting your leg back down and leaning over you. One hand still circling your clit. His lips were red from all the kissing and biting, his cheeks were flushed, “Me either.”

It was then, in a kiss that was little more than a tangle of tongues. That you finally reached your peak. Kaiba’s thrusts became erratic, losing their rhythm until he finally stuttered inside you. You felt warm, you felt soft. So you smiled at him and breathed his name. Soft, gentle.

“Seto.”


	7. Coffee and eggs

Someone was trying to wake you up. A tender voice was whispering your name, a hand was just barely rubbing your arm and trying to coax you out of your sleep. When you finally opened your eyes your voice caught in your throat.

“Hey.” Kaiba said, because Kaiba was still here. Kaiba wasn’t supposed to still be here, “Bathroom?”

It took a few false starts, but you were finally able to tell him that it was the door on the left wall. He nodded and climbed out of your bed ( _ god he’d slept in your bed) _ in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs like he was absolutely supposed to be there. Not like someone who was meant to leave before you’d woken up. Not like someone who was planning for a one night stand and nothing more. No. Kaiba was standing in your tiny bedroom like he’d intended to come back to it another night.

“Kaiba...” you’d started

“Seto.” He corrected, turning to look at you, “or did you already forget?”

You blinked, “no I just thought-“ thought that it was a sex thing. That it was only a sex thing. Your heart betrayed you, thrumming in your chest.

“You thought what?”

“Oh. Nothing, sorry.”

“Mm...” was all he had to say. This was awkward. 

“Do you...want a spare towel? I’d have to get one from the laundry, my bathroom cupboards weren’t big enough.” 

“Where’s the laundry? I can get it.” 

“Oh, no don’t do that!” You pulled yourself from the bed, suddenly very aware of your state of undress, “it’s um, it’s a real mess in there. I haven’t washed last week's clothes yet. Gimme a second.” 

He nodded, politely taking a seat on the edge of your bed. His gaze levelled with you, and you suddenly felt a lot more vulnerable than you had the night before. The sex part was fun, this emotions part was the bit you were never any good at. You quickly went to your drawers and grabbed a large shirt to at least cover your torso, you wanted nothing more than to avert Kaiba’s stare. 

“Are you...um-“ you started leaving the bedroom and headed through the kitchen to the laundry. The apartment was small, so a quick look over your shoulder meant you could see where Kaiba was still sitting, “-are you staying for breakfast?” 

“It’s already well past noon.” He paused, “but I could eat.” 

You grabbed your nicest white towel from the linen closet and folded it over your arm, “I think i have eggs. Is scrambled okay? No matter what I try, they always scramble.”

“That’s fine.”

You passed him the towel and he stood up from the bed again. You stumbled backward, almost forgetting how tall he was, “Don’t take too long, the hot water runs out pretty fast.”

He nodded and grabbed his pants from the floor where they had been lying since the night before. He stepped into your small bathroom, and slid the door shut. 

You proceeded to have a crisis. You thought you knew a decent amount about Seto Kaiba, you were a reporter for God’s sake, it was your  _ job  _ to know about Seto Kaiba. Even you could not have predicted this, clearly. It was just going to be a quick lay, something fun to tell your friends about a few years down the line. About that one time Kaiba rode you to orgasm on your 20,000 yen mattress. 

Seto. You corrected mentally.  _ Seto  _ rode you to orgasm on your 20,000 yen mattress. 

God that was even weirder. The two of you were on a first name basis now? What the hell was even happening?

“Shit, breakfast!” You muttered, dashing into the kitchen and cracking four eggs into a bowl. The least you could do for the guy is cook him some passable scrambled eggs. As you whisked, your mind continued to wander. What did this mean for you? What did this mean for your  _ job _ ? At any rate, right now you needed to focus on boiling a pot of coffee and not burning these eggs. 

It was right when you were grabbing two plates from the cupboard to scrape some marginally sloppy eggs onto, that Kaiba came out of the shower. 

“You were right about the water.” He said, drying his hair off with the towel and walking past you to drop it into your laundry basket, “Does your landlord think two minutes of hot water is enough?”

He smelt like your shampoo. The smell didn’t suit him, expensive fruity hair products were one of the few luxuries you allowed yourself, it made the way he crossed his arms and cocked his hips almost seem juvenile. You caught a soft smile half formed on your face and stopped it in its tracks. 

“You smell nice.” You said, it was meant to be a jab because he smelt all fruity and girly. It ended up coming out too genuine. Maybe because it was.

He huffed and tried to blow some hair out his face, it didn’t sit as nicely when it was wet, hanging over his eyes a little bit, “I need a shirt.” 

He was right. You’d been so focussed on navigating your weird soft feelings that you totally forgot that shirtless  _ wasn’t  _ Kaiba’s default state. He was only wearing his slacks from the night before, hanging unfairly low on his hips. 

“Oh yeah.” You started, “I ripped that didn’t I?” 

“Yes” 

“In my defence you did tell me to,” you placed the scrambled eggs on the table before making your way to the drawers in your room, “Breakfast on the table. There’s coffee in the pot. Milk in the fridge. I’m out of sugar but I’ll bet you don’t take it with sugar anyway.” 

“Mm.” He said, walking over to the stovetop where the coffee pot was sitting. You were digging through your drawer trying to find something that would fit him, he was a good deal taller than you and a lot of your shirts were full of holes. There was a massive one that you bought at your first Duel Monsters convention that was so old it may as well have been all hole. 

“Black, white or orange.” You called into the kitchen. 

Kaiba was sitting at the table, drinking his coffee, “for what?” 

“Your shirt.” 

“White. And your coffee is terrible.” 

You pulled the shirt from the drawer, “Yeah, I know, it’s from Daiso.” 

Kaiba sighed, taking a largely unhappy sip, “I can’t believe you’re making me drink 100 yen coffee.” 

“I’m not  _ making  _ you do anything” you put the folded shirt in front of him, “that’s for you.” 

“Thanks.” 

“And besides, no one asked you to stay the night.” 

He paused mid-sip, gently putting the mug back down on the table, “should I not have?” 

_ Should  _ he not have? You really didn’t know. So you didn't answer. You just sat at the table and started eating your eggs.

He stood up and started working the shirt on over his head, “I’ve got a launch next week, so I won’t be able to see you unless you come to my office. I can get Mina to print you a visitor’s pass for now, and we can set up something more permanent later.”

You froze mid-bite, “You want me to...visit you?” 

“Yes?” 

“... Why?”

There’s an even longer pause as he stares back at you. “... Why wouldn’t I?”

Your brain, slowed as it is by the early morning, racks itself for an explanation, but it comes up with nothing. You shake your head, lost, as the silence becomes awkward.

Kaiba stares back at you. His brow is furrowed. You see in his face irritation, impatience, but beneath it all, you think you see a tiny little bit of vulnerability. 

Your whole world turns on its axis as you realise you may have fundamentally misunderstood the meaning behind last night. 

Holy shit. “I’m sorry, I just really thought this was a one night stand thing.” 

He balked at you, “What gave you that impression? I filled your office with roses and then took you to dinner!”

“I dunno!” You started, gesturing wildly as you tried to explain “I just thought you were showing off, or something! You’ve seen my apartment, I didn't think you were actually interested in me!”

Kaiba’s face shifts then. His mouth snaps shut, his brows unfurrow themselves. He straightens to his full height, and suddenly, the Kaiba you were just speaking to is gone. He looks the same as when you first met him; face unreadable, walls up, his impenetrable ‘holier than thou’ stare directed at you. It’s awful.

“I see,” he says coldly. “I’ll show myself out, then.”

“What?” you say weakly. 

He doesn’t answer. He’s already making towards the door, hastily tucking his shirt beneath the waistline of his pants.

“Wait- Kaiba, wait!” You race to stop him, and you almost don’t make it. His hand is on the handle of your front door. 

In fact, you might have been too quick, as you collide right into the firm muscle of his back. Your hands grip the fabric of his shirt around his waist, just so you're sure he can’t leave before you’ve had your say. “Chill out, okay?” you breathe, resting your forehead against his back. The fabric of the shirt shifts over the smooth skin of his back, and you remember how it felt under your own touch. You’d kinda like to touch it again sometime. “I’m not saying no, I just didn’t know that’s what you wanted.”

He turns back to face you slightly. His face is still masked by that bullshitty expression, emotionless and cold. You hate it. You never want it directed at you again. “So what are you saying, then?” he asks quietly. 

Your cheeks burn, and you press your face harder against the back of his shirt as if it will cool them down. “I guess I’m saying… yes. So just… come back, okay?”

His hand leaves your door handle and settles on your shoulder instead, pulling you away just enough to allow him the space to turn around to face you. He looks down at you with just the tiniest, tiniest smile. “I didn’t even leave yet.”

You sniff, even though you’re not crying, and smile back “I guess not.” 

His hand shifts from your shoulder to your cheek. Feeling suddenly shy you take a step back again, trying your best not to seem too awkward, “Sorry, um...You should not have tucked that shirt in, it looks terrible.” 

You reached down and gently pulled the hem of your white shirt from the waistband of his dress pants, “it still looks bad, but it’s better.” You're standing very close to him now, the heat of what almost became an argument still hanging in the air. You sighed, “you know what, I finish early on Thursdays. I can come by around 4” 

He blinks at you, and then his confusion dissipates as a smile takes its place, “Do you want me to send you a car?” 

You dismissed the idea with a wave of your hand, “I only work a few blocks away from the Kaiba Corp building, I can walk.” Feeling weird and soft inside your chest, you stood up on your toes and kissed his cheek, “thanks for offering, though.”

“I want this to work.” He breathed, “I mean it.”

“Yeah, you know what. So do I.”

He smiled, he didn't do it often enough. He looked years younger when he did, “Sorry for not eating. I have a meeting at 2.”

“That’s fine. I can cook some bad food for you another time.”

He snorted, “Maybe I’ll cook instead.”

You laughed, “Sure.”

***

After Seto left, you dialled your boss’ number and leaned against the fridge. 

“Hello?”

“Yes, Mr Sakamoto, it’s me.”

“Oh! Are you okay? You don't usually call on weekends.”

You smiled, “Yeah, I know. Um, I just need to tell you something. About work.”

“Is this about the roses?” Mr Sakamoto asked, concern lacing his voice, “I was worried you might have a stalker.” 

“No I-“ you laughed to yourself a little, “-I think I have a boyfriend.” 

“Oh? That’s… nice?” 

“Mm.” You said, heading to the window and pulling the curtains back so you could Seto heading back to his car, “It kind of is.” 

“Well as long as you’re okay.” He paused, “Was there anything else you needed?” 

“Yeah.” You sat on the windowsill, “I might have to stop covering competitive duels for a bit.” 

“Huh, what?” You heard what sounded like a pen cup falling over, “Sorry- shit. I just knocked my pens all over the desk, what do you  _ mean _ you can't cover duels? Are you really okay?”

You chuckled, “Yeah, I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Then  _ why? _ ”

“Nothing major.” You replied. Seto looked up at your window. He was smiling. You waved down at him and he waved back, your heart raced in your chest and for the first time, you let it. “Just a conflict of interest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ay! It's done! Thanks a bunch for reading, i had a lot of fun writing things. expect a few follow ups in the future, along with some other miscellaneous Kaiba stuff, cause im simping hard. Love ya xx


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